Counting the Cost

Thailand protests: How much is the king worth?

Estimates of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s wealth start at $30bn, but that number may be much higher.

Anti-government protests kicked off in Thailand last year after a pro-democracy party was disbanded for opposing the military government.

The protests escalated and morphed into demands for the monarchy to be reformed. It has long been thought that Thailand’s monarch was the richest in the world.

The country’s economy has contracted more than 6 percent due to the pandemic. Millions are unemployed and there is little prospect of a tourism revival.